When a U.S. company imports goods from foreign sources, it may be subject to numerous U.S. Customs regulations. One such set of requirements is based upon a complex classification system promulgated by U.S. Customs, known as the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (“HTS”) code. Within this system, U.S. Customs classifies types of products using 10-digit HTS codes. These codes may be used, for example, to determine the applicable tariff rates on different types of products imported into the U.S. Importers may therefore have to correctly classify each imported product under the appropriate HTS code, so that the proper duty amounts may be calculated.
A customs broker may act as an intermediary between an importer and U.S. Customs. The broker may determine the amount of duty owed on imported goods, and prepare and submit paperwork and duty payment to U.S. Customs on behalf of the importer. Typically, foreign suppliers may send invoices and shipping documents with their shipment of imported goods. These documents may generally be required by customs brokers for the purpose of calculating the duty and preparing the Customs paperwork submissions. The broker may submit a report to the importer, which may include information about the Customs filings and the amount of duty paid.
One of the requirements of U.S. Customs rules is a Country of Origin (COO) declaration and NAFTA certificate information for each product. In order to comply with these rules, supplier information for the products may have to be stored and processed.
In some cases, a product may have multiple supply sources. In these cases, multiple sets of COO and NAFTA certification history may have to be stored and processed. For each of the multiple supply sources, periodic re-certification may be needed, missing certifications may have to be tracked, and certification changes may have to be reported to the customs brokers.
There is a need for systems and methods that allow multiple sets of COO and NAFTA certification data to be captured and processed, for imported or exported products.